How can schools make the most of their apprenticeship levy?

Apprenticeships are such a good way for schools and academy trusts to train and upskill their staff. 

For a start, they cover a broad range of job roles relevant to schools. As well as teaching and teaching assistant apprenticeships, programmes can be used in other areas such as sports coaching, facilities management, catering, business and accounting. 

Since the apprenticeship levy was first introduced in 2017, schools and academy trusts across the country have paid hundreds of millions of pounds into the pot, but many could still be making more of their funds.  

So, what benefits can apprenticeships bring to schools?  

Train teachers  

There are several relevant teacher training apprenticeships available - from early years educator to postgraduate teacher. And, coming soon, there's a new version of the level 6 integrated degree apprenticeship teacher standard. Currently under development, this four-year course is due to go live in September 2025. 

Teaching apprenticeships give schools another option when looking to recruit talent. For prospective teachers, they provide the best of both worlds, offering hands-on classroom teaching experience underpinned by formal knowledge learning at college or university.  

Upskill staff   

The apprenticeship standards include courses up to level 8 - equivalent to a bachelor's or master's degree. Schools can spend their levy funds on these higher-level programmes to upskill existing staff in all fields.  

The personal touch  

Apprentices spend 80% of their programme training on the job so they already know how their school operates right from day one. 

This prior knowledge brings a personal touch that's not there immediately when recruiting external staff. Trainees will be dependable, trustworthy and have the advantage of being familiar to the school's pupils by the time they qualify. 

Save money on training  

Rather than let them go to waste, schools can use their levy funds to pay for training. The money is sitting there waiting to be spent and apprenticeships are an effective way to recruit, train and retain talent. It's an easy decision really.  

Meeting targets  

All public sector bodies with more than 250 staff must meet targets of 2.3% apprenticeship starts each year. This means that a school with 300 employees would have to hire seven apprentices in a 12-month period. It's not a huge undertaking, especially as there are so many different functions within a school where apprenticeship training could be given.  

Use it or lose it  

The funds schools pay into the apprenticeship levy will only stay in their NAS accounts for 24 months. After that the money will go back to the government for allocation to small and medium sized businesses.  

Apprenticeships have been used to upskill the UK workforce for decades and it's great that schools too now have this route into staff training. There's never been a better time to invest in apprenticeships. After all schools have millions of pounds in their levy funds just waiting to be spent. 

To find out how you can make the most of your apprenticeship levy, download our free guide.